My name is Ronnie - and I am addicted to newspapers. So, it was with a little concern that I read that for the first time digital advertising will account for half of all ad spend in the UK this year. Think of that: more advertising spend online than on TV, newspapers, magazines or radio. The news, reported in The Daily Telegraph from Strategy Analytics, highlights the increasing threat to traditional print media, not just in the UK but also in Ireland and across the globe. Sadly, another Irish title, the Metro Herald expired before Christmas. The massive growth in digital revenues also puts into context the recent announcement by the Irish Times of a paywall for its content.Maybe it’s because I’m not using a tablet but relying on laptop and iPhone 6 but I remain a huge fan (OK, addict) of print media. Yes I’ll get my news online or on radio/TV that Debaltseve in Ukraine has fallen or that Greece has or has not applied for a bailout extension – but rather than peering at a screen, I’ll want to spread out in comfort with a newspaper and a cup of tea (or preferably at the weekend a pint of Uncle Arthur) for deeper analysis, comment and implications. The reality is that newspapers are no longer really news papers. The move to digital and the importance of search has implications and opportunities for PR. A study by Curata last year found that over 70% of marketers plan to increase spend on content marketing. I have argued in an earlier blog that the online revolution and huge increase in content marketing plays to PR strengths. We are in the middle of a media and marketing revolution but used correctly, PR remains one of the most powerful elements in your marketing and digital marketing mix.EndsSide note: A 30-second TV commercial during the Super Bowl earlier this month cost an eye watering $4.5m or $150,000 per second.

Highly respected digital marketing guruRand Fishkin, co-founder of Moz, presented a live webinar last week from the United States US to some 200 guests of rapidly growing Irish owned (don’t let the name fool you) DM agencyWolfgang Digital. Rand was asked by Wolfgang boss Alan Coleman to highlight what were the big trends in Digital Marketing for 2015.Some of Rand’s predictions emphasise how the lines between PR and Digital Marketing are blurring (for those who can recognise the opportunities).For example, Content Marketing has been around for a while, as organisations move from Megaphone Marketing to Relationship Marketing. But Rand sees a big increase in investment in content. However, he warned that these days there is so much content flying around out there that it needs to be valuable and of high quality to interest an increasingly limited attention span, target audience.This is one reason in my view why PR in general and Tech PR in particular has been given a new lease of life by today’s Digital Marketing. PR has been developing quality content for decades from news stories to surveys, research, white papers and customer case studies. What’s more, PR folks have had to learn over many years to develop content that appeals to that most jaded, cynical and questioning of audiences, that is, journalists.----------"Google changes its algorithms as frequently as the Arsenal score board at a home game to Aston Villa" -------------The other big opportunity for PR in my view remains in boosting your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). You can optimise the hell out of your website but Google changes its algorithms as frequently as the Arsenal score board at a home game to Aston Villa. This means that your site can be out of date in a month.All DM experts emphasise the importance to Google of backlinks to your site - not in terms of quantity but quality. A link from a respected online media site to a report or piece of research on your website can be especially powerful.Even if you do not generate a backlink, the Google bots do tend to gravitate to respected online news sites on the basis that if they are covering your story then it must be of interest to their users. An organic mention of your latest customer win, new product or acquisition provides vital third party endorsement and credibility that advertising or your website cannot.There have been some daft observations that because many of PR’s traditional print media targets are no longer around, PR itself is at risk. Quite the opposite. PR remains one of the most powerful, persuasive elements in your Digital Marketing armoury.See Wolfgang Digital’slive Hangout with Rand Fishkin here. The sound is a little ‘echoey’ at the start but soon settles down for a fascinating approximately half hour presentation on the big Digital Marketing trends for 2015:http://youtu.be/pwWxbPH8mOY

Global technology mergers and acquisitions are back to their dotcom levels, according to new research from EY published by The Daily Telegraph . This is good news for Irish tech firms. The tech giants are sitting on vast cash piles and are looking to invest in the right technology. See infographic:

You know there’s a need for a new party (#rebootireland) when you find yourself agreeing 100% with 50% of what Clare Daly says. The problem of course is with the other 50%.Clare shone like a beacon in 2014 with her stance on women/social issues, the Garda whistle blowers and the arrogance displayed by the establishment in relation to them. But her views on the economy, if implemented, would threaten to switch off not only the beacon but the lights as well.Despite their lip service to the need to encourage SMEs and entrepreneurship, the traditional FG and FF parties remain hostages to the power of public sector unions as witnessed by the status quo in terms of taxation and pensions not to mention the stitch up in relation to Irish Water. As one letter to the Irish Times brilliantly put it: “I have no objection to paying for water. I do object to paying for Irish Water”.Leo Varadkar did pop his head up in relation to Ireland’s anti-woman and anti-poor stance on termination of pregnancy and the cruel inadequacies shown up in relation to the Eighth Amendment. However, he soon popped it right back again. The established parties remain like rabbits in the headlights of the admirable organisational ability of the so-called Pro Life lobby.(An inspired piece of PR by the way to brand it Pro Life as that implies that anyone who disagrees with it is anti-life).Yes, there is a hunger by a young (and older) electorate for a new party which will encourage initiative and which reflects today’s views on social matters. Unfortunately, Lucinda’s new offspring does not appear to be it.The elephant (or dinosaur) in the room is the issue on which Lucinda and the Reform Alliance was formed. Lucinda and like minded individuals are fully entitled to their genuinely held views and she is to be greatly admired for resigning on an issue of principle. However, opinion polls suggest that Ireland is ready to move on in terms of social issues. As with Clare Daly, I find myself agreeing 100% with 50% of what Lucinda aspires to. The problem is with the other 50%.The search goes on.

Official: Take a seat. Can I offer you any refreshment?Candidate: Whatever you’re having will be fine.Official: Barman? Two more pints of Guinness please. And two Black Bush chasers.Now then. So what credentials do you bring that are relevant to the appointment to a State board?Candidate: I can drive.Official: Excellent. {Ticks box}. That could come in useful. Anything else?Candidate: I’m a good friend of Enda.Official: Fantastic. There’s a long precedent for mates of Taoisigh being appointed to State boards.Any other capabilities that would support your selection?Candidate: Um. Not that I can think of.Official: Perfect. We may have to go through the motions of interviewing other candidates but I think you can rest assured that you have all the attributes required.Candidate: Thank you.Official: Not at all. Have you any other engagements today?Candidate: Not really. I just need to register at my local Garda station as usual.Official: Great stuff. A little community service can only enhance your literature at the General Election. Another pint?Candidate: I’d better not. I have the van.Official: Ah sure not to worry about that. We can sort out the penalty points. Barman? Same again here…Note: We are not at liberty to identify the official or candidate.Ends

﻿Sitting in the Aviva Stadium last night it struck me that it would be easier to hack into the Pentagon server than learn the lineup of the Irish soccer team. Of course, the PA announces the team shortly before the national anthems. This ignores the long standing, indeed obligatory, Lansdowne Rd tradition that at that particular time Irish fans are either: a) Finishing off their pint in Scruffys.﻿ b) Finishing off a prawn sandwich in the Aviva reserved area or c) In the loo recycling the contents of the session in Scruffys. Last night was particularly confusing eg is Meyler really playing at right back? The number of beards and/or shaven heads in the squad didn’t help. Why can’t the FAI put the team on the big screen when it is not showing action from the game as seems to be the norm at most UK stadiums? As for the game itself, it was great to see Ireland pass the ball. I don’t remember any long ball, compared to the bad old Trapattoni days when, even at home against teams like Armenia, we hoofed the ball long and high and often, like demented Riverdancers. Trapattoni probably had better players than O’Neill eg Duff; Richard Dunne who got him out of jail in Moscow and a younger Keane. But it is great to see O’Neill making use of a proper footballer like Hoolahan and when fit, Andy Reid. Selection of players like that shows that O’Neill is looking to play grown up football, not the boot and gallop of the Italian period. The big question is will he have faith in Hoolahan away from home in Tbilisi? I do hope so. It is arguably even more important to have a player who can help the team hold on to the ball away from home.﻿

The coverage that Apple generates for iPhone launches has always been massively impressive. iPhone 6 will be no different. This despite the sometimes strained relationships between some media and Apple. Now 9to5mac.com has published a fascinating detailed insight in to how Apple manages the media. (See: “Seeing through the illusion – understanding Apple’s mastery of the media”). This also suggests that under the new CEO Tim Cook, the Cupertino giant, like Ryanair, may be looking to adopt a more transparent, friendly media image.

A blog about PR, football and politics

﻿﻿Ronnie has been watching the Irish soccer team since he was a kid and caught two buses in to Dalymount Park. He believes that a) politics today is mostly about PR and b) Irish politics is far more entertaining than Ireland under Trapattoni.﻿﻿